A new campaign called “Look, Smile, Wave!” is on the streets promoting bus and bike safety as Bike Month continues, according to a press release from King County.

The safety campaign marks the second year King County Metro has teamed up with the Seattle Department of Transportation, Bicycle Alliance of Washington and Cascade Bicycle Club on transit bus ads that remind bus operators and cyclists to be on the lookout for each other.

School districts and private schools will have the ability to have stock epinephrine auto injectors prescribed to their schools for the treatment or avoidance of severe allergic reactions, thanks to a bill which was signed into law May 16.

The bill was sponsored by Sen. Mark Mullet, D-Issaquah, according to a press release from the Washington State Legislature.

Fears of pollution, seizure spark utility outcry

By Peter ClarkJanet Sailer, communications manager for the Sammamish Plateau Water and Sewer District, stands at a storm water collection pond in the Lower Reid Infiltration Gallery in the Issaquah Highlands.

A dispute flared into the public eye May 6 as city officials and the Sammamish Plateau Water and Sewer District sparred over storm water pollution and Issaquah’s intentions to take over principal wells owned by the district.

Among some students at Issaquah High School, a dubious contest known as May Madness has popped up in recent years almost as predictably as final exams.

But because the object of the underground competition is to determine the best-looking, or “hottest,” girls in school, administrators, teachers and many students are eager to stamp it out.

Anonymous promoters of May Madness at Issaquah High have once again posted on a Facebook page 64 yearbook-style photos of girls for one-on-one matchups in brackets patterned after sports tournaments. A girl’s name can be entered in or withheld from the contest without her permission.

More high school seniors binge drink in the Issaquah School District than their peers in the state, according to the results of the 2012 Healthy Youth Survey.

Every two years, students across the state are asked to voluntarily take an anonymous survey of nearly 250 questions about risky behaviors and other items related to their well-being. The survey — a joint effort between the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Family Policy Council and several other state agencies — was administered in October to 295,899 Washington students, in grades six, eight, 10 and 12.

Trust for Public Land, King County, steps in with purchase

Only four days after the state approved Erikson Logging’s application to clear-cut sections of a Squak Mountain parcel, King County announced concrete plans to purchase it from developers.

Since the announcement of the company’s intention to harvest old-growth trees in the area in January, concerted efforts have been made by King County and local group Save Squak to find a way to protect the land. On May 8, the county announced it had struck a deal with the Trust for Public Land, which agreed to buy the 220-acre parcel and accept payment from the county over time.

Citizens had their first opportunity to ask questions about the city’s approach toward a decision on the potential annexation of the Klahanie area.

The first of two public meetings was held May 8 for Nesbitt Planning Management Inc. representatives Tom Nesbitt and Cynthia Stuart to present the results of their study on the costs and benefits of a possible annexation. They also fielded questions from concerned citizens.